Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. Importantly, Atlantic Grupa d.d. (ZGSE:ATGR) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
What Risk Does Debt Bring?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
Check out our latest analysis for Atlantic Grupa d.d
How Much Debt Does Atlantic Grupa d.d Carry?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Atlantic Grupa d.d had debt of Kn818.4m at the end of December 2020, a reduction from Kn931.7m over a year. However, it does have Kn426.5m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about Kn391.8m.
A Look At Atlantic Grupa d.d's Liabilities
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Atlantic Grupa d.d had liabilities of Kn1.67b due within 12 months and liabilities of Kn789.2m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had Kn426.5m in cash and Kn1.16b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total Kn879.7m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
Given Atlantic Grupa d.d has a market capitalization of Kn5.16b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward.
In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.
Atlantic Grupa d.d has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.61. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 20.2 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. The good news is that Atlantic Grupa d.d has increased its EBIT by 4.3% over twelve months, which should ease any concerns about debt repayment. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Atlantic Grupa d.d's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.
Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. During the last three years, Atlantic Grupa d.d produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 72% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
Our View
Happily, Atlantic Grupa d.d's impressive interest cover implies it has the upper hand on its debt. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is also very heartening. Zooming out, Atlantic Grupa d.d seems to use debt quite reasonably; and that gets the nod from us. While debt does bring risk, when used wisely it can also bring a higher return on equity. Above most other metrics, we think its important to track how fast earnings per share is growing, if at all. If you've also come to that realization, you're in luck, because today you can view this interactive graph of Atlantic Grupa d.d's earnings per share history for free.
At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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About ZGSE:ATGR
Atlantic Grupa d.d
Engages in the research, development, production, and distribution of fast moving consumer goods in Southeast Europe, the European markets, Russia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Flawless balance sheet with proven track record and pays a dividend.
